Marouane Fellaini had revealed that he will honour his long-term contract at Everton if the club so wish, despite his ambitions to move on to the next stage of his career.

Belgium midfielder Fellaini has been consistently linked with a move away from Goodison Park, with several top clubs in the Premier League and abroad said to be interested in him.

However, Fellaini has three-and-a-half years left to run on his current deal at Everton, and said he is happy to stay at the club he joined from Standard Leige in 2008 for as long as the club want him.

"I want to go higher in football but I have a contract with Everton until 2016 and, if they want me to, I will see it out to the end," the 25-year-old said.

Despite his insistence that he is happy playing for Everton, Fellaini has revealed that he has had to move away from the city of Liverpool because of all the attention he receives.

The midfielder, who is set to return from a three-match suspension for headbutting Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross when Everton play Newcastle United on Wednesday night, said he has had to move to nearby Manchester for a quieter life.

"I could not stay in Liverpool any longer," he is quoted as saying by the Sun. "I was recognised too much and sometimes women would suddenly climb all over me.

"The paparazzi also took some getting used to. I don't want to be a big star. People in Manchester treat me with more respect."